Christmas Pictures & Grace's 3 Year Old Pictures

Last weekend my friend, Tina, took some family pictures for our 2009 Christmas card and also took some of Grace since she will be 3 years old in about a month. My little girl is getting so big. It was a struggle at first to get her to not smile so "big", but finally we got some natural smiles (the kind I like). Tina was also able to get a few pics of Madd and his sweetness.

MaMaMaMa

MaMaMaMa...that's my name in case you didn't know. Madd has officially been calling for me for the past few weeks. I remember when Grace said Dada and I thought "Really? How much more can I do for you and you say Dada first?". Since the first few weeks with Madd I had no doubt that my name would be first. He is so obviously attached to his Mama and while I'm sure there will be times when I am challenged with this, it is so incredibly sweet. I love that little guy!

Pumpkin Patch 2009

We have been very busy, so while visiting Granny & Poppy in Tulsa we decided to make a trip out to the Carmichael's Pumpkin Patch. It was chilly, a lot colder than it had been in San Antonio so we had to bundle up. Grace loved all the pumpkins and Madd was especially fond of the hay that he tried to eat on numerous occasions. We attempted the pony ride, but of course Grace got all the way up to the horse and decided that it wasn't for her. She also wanted nothing to do with all the farm animals. She has developed numerous fears over the last few months including, clowns, anything really in a furry costume (that includes Chuck E. Cheese), horses, goats, dogs, cats and some people. Yep, it's been super fun! We ended our trip with a hayride. All in all, I think Grace had fun and Madd he enjoyed being held by Poppy the entire time.

Maddox - 6 Months Old!

We recently had Maddox's 6 month check-up. He was all smiles up until all the shots:-( But he did okay and didn't cry too much. He is my tough guy...ha...not really:-) He weighed 21lbs and 4oz which put him in the 93rd percentile. He was also 27 1/2 inches long (79%). He is growing (which isn't really surprising) and doing well. He is pretty much to the point where he can sit up on his own. He does fall over quite a bit if he is not concentrating on sitting, but he is getting there. The doctor did say he had some swelling on his top teeth, so I am hoping that he will soon have some little teeth popping out! He hasn't been sleeping his best either (getting up at 4 or 5 AM), he does go back to sleep after a bottle..but still! I'm hoping this is related to the teeth and not a separate issue that we are going to have to seriously work on!

My baby boy is such a happy guy at this point. He had a rough start but I couldn't ask for a more sweet and affectionate little boy. Of course it helps that I am his Mama and he LOVES his Mama:-) How lucky am I?

Potty Trained?

So I feel bad for multiple reasons. 1. It's been a long time since I posted anything, so much has happened in the last 2 weeks since I posted, i.e. Dan's 30th birthday. And 2. Grace is potty trained!!!! For the most part:-)

August 30th, Grace, Daddy, Grandma & Papa were washing the car, so I decided to put a bathing suit on with no diaper. Afterwards I took the bathing suit off and decided why not try her out. Well I asked her no long afterwards if she needed to pee pee and she told me no. Of course, this is always how it goes down. I feel like I am forcing her into the bathroom and eventually give up b/c she is REFUSING to go. Well I simply said that I'm sure if she went she could have some M&Ms. Well it worked!!! Don't get me wrong I have done this before, but today she actually cared! The rest is history. For the last 2 weeks she has had very minimal accidents. I guess it was just time. Thank goodness! I really thought she may never be potty-trained.

Port Aransas 2009

We made it down to the beach finally this year. While Papa & Grandma were visiting from Pittsburgh we drove down to Port Aransas, TX and spent 3 days & 2 nights. The first day we visited the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi. Grace loved seeing all the marine life and Maddox did watch the otters play a little bit. The next day was spent playing in the water..at the beach and at the condo's pool. Grace of course loved making sand castles with her Papa & Daddy and finding sea shells on the shore. Maddox actually enjoyed his first dip in the ocean...nice and warm, and actually didn't scream when we took him to the pool. The trip was a success! We had a great relaxing time!

Papa & the Pool

Grace loved going to the pool with her Papa tonight. There was a little boy at the pool who was jumping in and Grace was really watching him. We asked her if she wanted to jump in and she told us, "Ummmm....no!" Well after watching him have lots of fun she decided she wanted to jump in. So she got up the courage and had a blast. She gave her Papa a workout!

It's Raining, It's Pouring

To break up the 100+ degrees days here in San Antonio, God decided to give us break this evening and let it rain. As Grace and I were driving home from getting some pizza I saw all the neighbor kids outside playing the rain. I had to laugh to myself, because none of these kids are out playing when it's sunny. The whole neighborhood came out to rejoice in the rain. So naturally, when we got home Grace got her umbrella (a present from Granny...which we never thought would get used in this Desert) and played in the rain. It was so refreshing, until of course we lost power for nearly an hour and a half.

Maddox's 4 month appt.

Today was Maddox's 4 month appointment. He weighed in at 18lbs 7oz (97th percentile), 25 1/4 inches long (63rd percentile), and head circumference was 41 1/2cm (31st percentile). Basically it sounds like I have an average fat baby with a small head:-) He got 4 shots today and one orally. Poor baby! He did okay though, only cried a little on the last two. The doctor thought he looked healthy, but who didn't know that! Looking back at Grace's stats, Maddox outweighed her by 4lbs 2oz (and we thought she was a Chubs!) and was 1/4 inch longer, and his head was bigger by 1 1/2cm. She turned out okay, so I'm assuming he will too!

First Solids

Maddox had his first solids today (a bowl full of rice cereal). Technically he has been taking bottles every day with a little bit of rice cereal in them to help with his reflux, but today it was a little bit more solid. He did great and really seemed to enjoy eating (go figure right!)! Even Grace got in on the action and helped me feed him. I'm planning on letting her feed Maddox once he gets a little bit better at eating while I sleep in:-)

The things Grace will say....

I had posted this on my facebook page, but I thought I would jot it down here so I can have it in the vault. The other day I stopped at Sonic for a drink and sandwich. I received my order, but on my way out I realized they forgot my straw. So...I went back to get my straw. As I was leaving the parking lot again, I realized they gave me a sausage, egg & cheese sandwich, I asked for bacon, egg & cheese. So I again went back to change my order. As I was leaving for the third time I realized they again gave me a sausage, egg & cheese sandwich but threw in some bacon. I obviously was expressing my disgust with Sonic when from the backseat Grace asked "Mama, are you freaking out?" At least she used it correctly in a sentence.

Tonight at dinner I asked Grace what she wanted to do tomorrow (Sunday). We decided we should go see Jesus. She then proceeded to ramble on about everything she knew about Jesus. She began to whisper "we have to be quiet when we see Jesus", and then said "Jesus is in my heartbeat, bum-bum bum-bum [the sound of a heartbeat], and followed it up with "Jesus told me not to walk in the grass". I'm a little confused by that last part, but still precious none the less.

Oh and a side note, I know I never posted that "recital" video. It was too long, so I need to cut it down before it can be uploaded.

I DON'T/DO want to be a Ballerina...Which is it?

Well today was the last day of our Dance for Tots class. Grace was super excited (as always) for her last class. We dropped Maddox off at a friend's house so that it would just be the two of us and I could video tape the whole class so that all our friends and family could see what she was learning in class (beware it is around 12 minutes long). So the video tape will show her excited before class, but she quickly winds down and ends up laying out in the middle of the floor for almost the entire class while all the other kids dance/walk/march around her. To her defense I think she is either getting a cold or allergies and she could still possibly be doped up from her Zyrtec from the night before. Sadly my tape ran out just as she was about to actually participate in class. So you can just imagine those last 3 minutes and how great she was:-) Class is officially over and I'm left wandering if Grace wants to be a Ballerina or not....

Her sticker she got at the end of class.

Hugging Miss Christine goodbye.

I DO want to be a Ballerina!

So there isn't much to say about today's session of Dance with Tots. Grace told me all week about how she was going to go to class and she was going to get her stamp, and I kept saying how exciting it was going to be and that Maddox and I were going to watch her from the hallway. We got to class this morning early and she told me she was ready to go in. We had to wait for the next class to get out. Finally Miss Christine came out and asked if they were ready. Grace excitedly grabbed on to the rope and they sang "The Wheels on the Bus" all the way into the classroom. I didn't see Grace for 35 minutes!!! Yay!!! She did it!!! I, of course, was watching periodically from the window and she did great. When she came out of class she was so proud of herself. She knew she had done it and I was SO INCREDIBLY PROUD OF HER TOO! Later at home I asked what she learned and she said "to be quiet". Hmmm...okay. She then said she also learned to hop, march & dance.

Father's Day 2009

Well yesterday was Father's Day. Grace and I decided to go to Target (about a week ago) and get Daddy a gift. I kept asking Grace as we were walking around what to get Daddy. I was pretty sure we were going to walk out of there with a Barbie or something like that. After much thought, she told me Daddy needed a hat. If you have seen Dan's hat collection...that was the last thing he needed. But it was incredibly thoughtful since I was prepared for a Barbie. So we headed over to the men's section. Of course right there on display were "World's Greatest Dad" hats. I smiled to myself thinking..that is so (NOT) Dan. The hats even had matching t-shirts:-) So Grace picked out her favorite and then proceeded to tell me that Daddy also needed a screwdriver. So next we headed over to the tool section (what little tool section there was at Target). She picked out some handy pliers. Again, very thoughtful. She knows her Daddy well. So last on our list was a card. She looked through a handful of Father's day cards until she found the perfect one. One the front of the card it had a "horsey" (actually a donkey) and said Happy Father's Day, and on the inside it said "from your smarta$$ kid". Hilarious!!! All Gracie liked was the "horsey". Of course Dan came home later that day and asked Grace if she had gotten him a card. She said yes and that it had a horsey on it and that she got him a hat with a matching shirt and a pool. Later he figured out she meant tool. Can she not keep secrets!?! Well we had a wonderful Father's day. We spent the day at church then lunch and ended it with Daddy's favorite meal, steak. We hope you had a wonderful Father's Day!

He did it!!!

Maddox turned 10 weeks yesterday, and last night he officially slept through the night. I guess he officially (according to baby books) was sleeping through the night all last week, but to me last night was official. He had been sleeping around 8-9 hours all last week, but last night he slept almost 11 hours. Actually I hear him waking up now. So his official times were 8:15 PM to 7 AM. I'm so proud of my boy! I hope he keeps this up!

I don't want to be a Ballerina, Pt. 2

Well today was our 2nd class of our 4 week Dance for Tots class. Grace was again very excited to go to class and dance. Miss Christine asked everyone to hold on to the rope and sing "The Wheels on the Bus" as they entered the classroom. Grace decided she was NOT going to class and said we should go home. I told her we were not leaving and we were going to sit there in the hallway for the entire class. She basically did this fake cry in her chair for at least 10 minutes (one of the other Moms got a picture of this and is going to send it to me:-). Finally I convinced her to go into the classroom. We went in for a minute, but she was already at the door ready to go. So we were back out in the hallway. A little more time passed and I convinced her once again to go into class. She was very interested in what they were doing (they were fishing!?!) Maddox began to cry so I had to leave. She stayed in there for maybe 5 minutes and then out in the hallway again. Finally I was able to put Maddox to sleep and convinced Grace for a third time (3x a charm...right?) to go back into the classroom. She actually particated in their activity! She jumped on some stars, ran through a tunnel and high-fived Miss Christine like a pro. She got her end-of-the-class sticker and as we were leaving she told me "that was fun Mama, we should do it again". Ugh!!!! Yes Grace, let's do that again next week.

Reflection

There are days for whatever reason you feel extremely lucky to be you. Maybe it was just a good day/evening with your family (the kids actually behaving and not screaming at you) or maybe you just get a moment to step back and realize all that you have. If you are lucky enough you may have these thoughts every day. For me, now after 2 kids, there isn't a lot of time to step back and live in the moment. I am constantly thinking about what I need to do next as I'm sure most Mothers do. In a way, Maddox has given me back so of that time. I am forced to sit in his dark, quiet room and feed him right before bed and while he is eating I am left with my thoughts. So here are a few things I was thinking about.

I have the most amazing husband. He may not always be amazing 24/7, but as a whole HE IS AMAZING! He works so hard for his family, sometimes to a fault. He makes it possible for me to stay at home with Grace & Maddox. He knows everything about me (the good, the bad & the ugly) and he still loves me and thinks I am beautiful. Since our kids he has been bumped down on the priority list (not on purpose and probably not a good thing) but he has, and he doesn't complain or hold a grudge. He thinks it's great that I enjoy living in San Antonio and I have met so many new friends, even though he is somewhat miserable here. He is my perfect match. I thank God for him and the path He brought me down so that I was able to find Dan.

I always knew I wanted children and a little girl would have been perfect. 2 1/2 years ago I got my wish when My Little Grace was born. She loves to snuggle, always have and may always will. She has the most incredible personality. She is almost always happy and her smile lights up a room and melts my heart. She has so much soul and joy in her eyes and she always knows when to say the right thing. Today we were sitting on the couch and out of the blue she said "you're a good Mama, I love you." I love you too Grace!

I never really imagined having a boy. I always thought I wanted girls (better selection on clothes!). But when I found out I was pregnant that is all I wanted and I cried (happy tears) when they told me I was having my boy. Obviously, I have heard of the mother/son connection, but you can't even begin to understand it until you have your own little boy. I am only 9 weeks in and I already can feel that bond. We haven't even begun to scratch the surface of Maddox's personality, only time will tell, but he already has an infectious smile with such happy eyes. I love him!

Okay, my time is up. All I can say is thank you for these 3 individuals that have all touched my life. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Goodnight.

Bathtime

Maddox loves his bathtime!

Sound the Horn, Cue the Drums

Maddox appears to be taking cues from his Big Sister. Much like his sister, he decided at 9 weeks to the day that he would like to attempt to sleep through the night. Last night I tried everything to get that bugger to go to sleep, but he just kept smiling away at me as I tried to nurse him. Finally, I put him in bed (wide awake) and left him to play in his bed. I was expecting to have to go back in the room and attempt to put him to sleep, but he was just looking at everything in his bed and eventually he put himself to sleep. At around 2:30 AM (his designated time) I woke up and thought "hmmm, only a matter of time", but then I woke up at 4 AM concerned I missed him crying or did he quit breathing (why do Mothers have to worry so much). So for about 45 minutes I waited to hear something that would tell me he was okay. Finally he started fussing a little bit. I went in and nursed him quickly and he was back asleep and woke up at 7:30 AM. I am so happy!!!! I hope it's not a fluke!

Nakey

Somehow the television channel was changed over to the Ultimate Fighting Championship weigh-ins. So one by one these rather huge men came out and would strip down to their underwear and weigh-in in prepration for their upcoming fights. I decided that this wasn't exactly what I wanted to watch so I switched the channel to something more interesting...like TLC. As the channel changed Grace told me that she wanted to "keep watching the men getting nakey!" I wonder how am I going to explain this to Dan if she tells him about the nakey men Mommy was watching and will he believe me? :-)

I don't want to be a Ballerina

Today was our first day of our Dance for Tots class. Grace was so excited to wear her "ballerina" outfit. I was anticipating a breakdown when we got there and she realized that I was not going into the classroom with her. But Miss Christine was super friendly and Grace warmed up very quickly. They all grabbed a piece of rope and Miss Christine led them into the classroom. Before I knew it Grace was the best in the class, she was pointing her toes and sitting very good on her tape (she told me that). Of course, that couldn't last forever. With about 10 minutes left in class a little boy began to break down, that began the domino effect and Grace was soon screaming for her Mama. The teacher asked if she was just tired. I don't think so. Grace kept telling me she wanted to go home and needed to go back to bed. So we lasted about 20 minutes. I keep mentioning how excited I am to see what she learns next week and she keeps telling me "I don't want to be a ballerina!" Currently...she is in bed. She just wouldn't stop crying/screaming!

Best Friends

Best buddies, Maddox & Henry

I truely think this may be Grace's 1st best friend. She loves Addison!

Maddox at 8 weeks

Maddox had his 2 month doctor appointment on Monday. Poor baby had to get 5 shots and one oral. He slept ALL day long. I was thinking next time I should go to my doctor's house at like 8 PM and have her give him the shots then, maybe I would get a full night rest. He weighed in at 15lbs 3 oz...craziness! He gained 7lbs since his birth in just 8 weeks and is in the 97th percentile for his weight. He was 24 inches long (87th percentile). Dan is proud and almost giddy at the thought that he might have a linebacker or tightend in the family. I think it may be a little early...don't you think? Other than that he got a clean bill of health. He does still have a little baby acne on his face and a dry scalp, so we are using T-Gel (I think that is what it is called) on his head. He also has lots of rolls so we need to make sure yeast isn't growing in there...kind of gross I know. The picture is of him later that day with his friends, Brinley (5 months) & Henry (1 month). So sweet!

Hmm....

So this is my first entry. I'm not sure what to say at this point. I guess I'm going to try and use this as a way to document all the wonderful things that Grace & Maddox do and say, and all the not so wonderful things they do and say. I'm sure I do my fair share of complaining as a mother, but they truely are the most beautiful things ever created and I'm so lucky they are mine. I can't wait to see as they get older and the people they become. I'm sure they are going to be great.